The Message
by angst-sunshine
Summary: When her boyfriend is killed, Momo is devastated. She loses all reason to live, but continues on knowing that he would have wanted her to. However, she stirs from her numbed state when she begins to witness strange things. Messages are being left for her.
1. Prologue: He's Gone

Hiya everyone! This is wendelin-gisela speaking...:) This story is a collaboration between myself and the wonderfully talented Namimakura. We are putting our lovely heads together to bring you a fabulous angsty and suspenseful mystery featuring Toushiro and Momo along with other bleach characters. We truly hope that you enjoy this story. So without further ado, The Message...

**Summary**: When her beloved boyfriend is killed, Momo Hinamori is devastated. She loses all reason to live, but continues on knowing that it would be what he would have wanted her to do. However, she stirs from her numbed state when she begins to witness strange occurrences. Messages are being left for her…messages that can only be from her dead boyfriend. Is he trying to tell her something?

**The Message**

**Prologue: Gone**

_He's gone_.

Momo's mind attempted to wrap around those two words, but she was simply incapable of understanding them.

They repeated over and over, a keening mantra, ever-reverberating through her entire body. She had the odd feeling that her body understood the meaning.

Perhaps that would explain the high-pitched sounds she was emitting. Tears were already slipping down her cheeks as she stared at his body, eyes soullessly staring back. Her body was shaking but her gaze was steady. She simply couldn't break the staring contest between them.

The tears were blurring her vision and she felt pain slicing through her upper left chest.

_He's_ _gone_.

Momo couldn't seem to grasp the concept even as her body reacted. Warm bodies pressed in closer, arms pulled around her, but still, she stared. Words whispered a warm breath on her neck and in her ear, but she didn't really understand them. The words didn't matter. Nothing beyond looking into his face mattered.

She felt moisture dropping into her hair and a light kiss pressed on top of her head, yet still, she didn't react.

"Momo, look at me."

Hands grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to stare into a brand new pair of eyes.

"How dare you?!," Momo was already screaming as the detached corner of her mind was shattered. The stare had been broken.

"How dare you, how dare you!," she shrieked, barely coherent. She pounded her fists against the person before her, too angry to even recognize who it was.

The pain was lancing through her now, over and over, obliterating, unending agony crashing over her in waves. Stabbing spears sheared through her heart and everything all over hurt.

A strangled, wordless cry of torturous suffering wrenched from low in her throat, aching and tearing. "No! No, no, no, no…." Her voice trailed off into empty nothingness as the weeping finally began.

The words were finally sinking in.

_He's gone_.

Her Toushirou, _her Toushirou_, would never stand beside her again. Never smile, never frown, never pierce her very soul with his penetrating green eyes. Never slip his hand in the small of her back to act as her very backbone when she was exhausted. Never kiss her again, never nip at her neck in that special way that only he had been able to do…..

_Is this what gone meant?_

To never curl up in his arms again just to talk of nothing at all? To never have him whisper endlessly in her ears at night, things that made her moan or giggle, or slap him? To never feel his breath on her skin, or the warm touch of his skin against hers?

Momo didn't like gone. Not if _that_ was what it meant. She screamed, she coaxed, she persuaded, she yelled, she punched, she kicked, she whined, she begged, she hoped, she prayed, she _needed_ her Toushirou back!

All to no avail.

And when she realized that, everything exploded in a hopeless myriad of sheer anguish from which her mind could find no escape. Everything splintered and fractured, leaving her mind as mere refracting fragments of broken mirrors.

Pain. Loss.

_Toushirou_.

Hurt, ache, loneliness, abandonment.

_Toushirou_.

Hands grabbing, tossing fists, crunching, snapping, blood. Soulless eyes.

_Toushirou_.

Emptiness, uselessness, pain, agonizing pain.

_Toushirou_.

White, white everywhere. Faces running past but none are the ones she wants.

Screaming, sobbing, weeping, sharp pain, snarling.

_Toushirou._

White hair, blank eyes and the bliss of sleep.

He's gone.

* * *

Authors' Ramblings...

Namimakura: Hmmm... notes about this chappy. it's actually shorter than they'll really be... being a prologue and all. it's probably the least coherent bit of writing because she's so distraught. over time, her mind will straighten itself out, but for now... it'll be rather black times for her i think. i'm not sure if i managed to get this across or not... so i'll explain it just in case. the reason momo gets so upset at having eye contact broken is that it's like an admission that he's dead. as long as she holds the stare, then she's still only taking it in, but as soon as it's broken she has to acknowledge the loss and she doesn't want to. anyways. i hope you all enjoyed it thoroughly! well, as much as one can enjoy such suffering anyway. and i'm wholly grateful towards gisela-chan's awesome encouragement! and she did so add a few words of her own. much love to everyone and i hope to see you next chapter!

Wendelin-Gisela: Wow. That's all I have to say about this wonderful chapter. It was completely and totally written by Namimakura. One of the reasons that we're writing together is because this story balances happiness with angst...and, in my opinion, Namimakura is an awesome angst writer...just awesome. Well, she's an awesome writer all around...:) So the prologue...I think that Nami has done a fabulous job at portraying the deep bond between Momo and Tourshirou...as well as the deep love she has for him. The chapter sort of has this surreal feel to it...as if nothing around her exists just the emptiness and pain she feels at the realization that he's gone. The pain...it is so intense...the mood has been set...and the mystery has definitely begun...;) Fabulous Nami, darlin!!!

Oh, yes, before we go, if you guys would like to find out more about us and/or about our collaboration, just check out our profile...;) Thank you all so much for reading!!! And remember, reviews make us really, really, really happy!!!


	2. Unexpected Meetings

Hiya again! Took a while, but alas...chapter one! Just one thing I would like to mention...so that there would not be too confusing...the story will shift from the past and the present...in this chapter we go back to the past. Before Momo met Toushirou...:) So, chapter one...

**The Message**

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Meetings**

Valentine's Day. 

The most dreadful day of the year. 

It was a crisp and cool February 14th morning and while the sun was shining brightly in the clear cerulean sky, peeking its shiny head from the dark clouds that had obscured it for the past week or so, it did little to brighten Momo Hinamori's gloomy mood. It didn't help that earlier that morning, as she was about to walk out of her apartment, the landlord burst out of _his _apartment to remind her, quite rudely, that rent would be due in one week, making the start of her already dreadful day more so. All he had to do was show his face to her to make her day dreadful, but reminding her that if she didn't pay the money she quite frankly didn't have would result in her being thrown out accentuated it. 

She sighed as she slipped the silver key of her workplace into the door of Ichimaru and Fon offices and opened the front door. At least she was sure to at least have an okay day at work. She normally did. The people that she worked with were...strange to say the least, but they weren't bent on giving her a hard time. As a matter of fact, she found that she actually enjoyed not only working with them, but her job as well. A first in her life.

After setting her things down at one of the front desks, hers actually, she went to the small room where she and Hanataro, her coworker and fellow legal secretary, usually had their lunches and began making coffee. Strong coffee. If she wanted to make it through the rest of the day in one piece, she needed it.

Putting the coffee pot in place as the coffee machine sprang to life, Momo put her lunch in the small refrigerator at the far corner of the counter and then went to lay out today's 'goodies' at the counter. She wasn't sure when exactly it had started, but it became a sort of a tradition for someone to bring in an assortment of sweets to share with the others every week. But she was sure that it all began informally between her and Hanataro, and not to long afterwards Mr. Ichimaru, her boss, had joined them and made it formal. 

Today's selection was a large tin can full of all sorts of chocolate covered cookies, none of which were in any shape or form related to today's "holiday." As a matter of fact, she choose this week to bring in the goodies so to make sure that no hearts, cupids, pink, red or white were part of the sweets decoration. She did not need to be reminded of the day anymore than she had to. 

Holding a large mug of dark, steaming coffee in her hand, Momo then proceeded to her desk and began to pull out a series of documents that needed to be handed in today. As she was placing the various documents on Mr. Ichimaru's desk, she heard the front door open and could only assume that it was her dear friend, Hanataro, coming in to work at seven in the morning. Clients didn't quite come in so early. 

After organizing the documents, Momo walked out of the large office to greet her friend. She had barely walked out of the door when her vision was suddenly blocked by something long and squared.

_Chocolate covered…strawberries? Oh, no…_

"Happy Valentines day, Momo," Hanataro said happily, smiling broadly at her behind the box. 

_Oh, no._

"Hanataro…um…good morning. Is that for me?" she asked him tentatively, not yet reaching up to take the gift she already knew was for her. But a girl could hope, right?

"Of course they are for you. You had said that you didn't like Valentines Day so I got you something nice to make you feel better," he chirped as he nudged the neatly bow-tied box into her hands. 

_No, no, no!_

"Oh…uh…thank you. You didn't have to," she said weakly as her heart sank. She took the box in her hands and was almost afraid to see if the chocolate fruits were heart shaped or not. A fearful glance confirmed that they weren't to her relief.

"You're my friend, of course I would get you something."

"Oh, Hanataro, I feel terrible now. I didn't get you anything," she said as she looked worriedly at him, truly feeling terrible not just for not getting him anything, but for having not wanted to. In her mind, Valentine's didn't exist. 

"Don't worry about it Momo. It's not about receiving, it's about giving." He smiled warmly at her and she couldn't help but forgive him instantly for his misinterpretation of her dislike of the holiday. He was after all, just trying to make her feel better. He really was a sweetheart.

"Thank you, Hanataro," she said sincerely now.

"You're welcome. Do…you like them?" he now asked her somewhat worriedly. "I remember you saying that you liked strawberries-"

"I love them," she said, cutting him off as she returned his warm smile. The worried expression immediately left his face and was replaced with a jubilant one instead. He suddenly began sniffing the air and turned his face towards the small lunch room to his left.

"Is that coffee?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes it is. Go help yourself," Momo said as she reached for the bag that was still slung over his shoulder. 

"Aw, gee thanks Momo," he said as he handed her his bag and quickly made his way to the coffee pot. Although she only needed coffee to help her keep her mind alert and focused as she worked, Hanataro needed it to stay awake. She couldn't help smiling as she went to put his things by his desk. However, one look at the bright red bow, sprinkled here and there with different shaped hearts, almost made her smile falter. Making a mental note to shred the ribbon to pieces, she put the box on her desk before continuing to Hanataro's. 

The front doors opened again and when Momo turned around to see who it was, she was greeted with the most horrifying sight yet.

"Aw. Hanataro beat me to you," Mr. Gin Ichimaru said, his expression downright mischievous as he smiled at her daringly. It was almost as if he understood perfectly her hatred of the rotten holiday and was delighting in her continued torment. Almost. 

"Oh, well, these are for you," he then said as he extended his filled hands towards her. And, as usual, his eyes were barely slitted open while he held the gift, mouth curled into its traditional fox-like grin.

Momo could only stare in shock and horror as the red, pink and white filled her vision. Flowers, in all shapes and colors, were neatly wrapped in pink tissue as three abominable balloons with curling matching colored ribbons hovered dauntingly above them. 

When she didn't speak, Mr. Ichimaru peeked his head around the flowers and looked at her questioningly, mouth slightly frowning. However, when he caught sight of her expression, he smiled once more, flourishing the flowers in a dramatic gesture.

"Speechless?" he asked her. Momo still couldn't tell if Mr. Ichimaru was only being cruel or if he really had only purchased the flowers as a friendly gift. She had never really been able to figure him out. She opened her mouth to respond but no words seemed to come out.  
"I'll take that as a yes," Mr. Ichimaru then said as he smiled broadly at her, eyes still resolutely shut. Sometimes she wondered if he was blind. He then went over to her desk and placed the flowers and balloons carefully on it, miraculously finding a spot that was not scattered with papers or post-it notes. Although extremely neat and organized, Momo worked hard and usually had her desktop filled with all sorts of papers. 

He turned to look at her again and when he saw that she was still staring with her mouth open, his smile only got bigger (as impossible as it seemed, he always managed to leave this impression as he grew more and more amused by something) as he said, "I'll get you a vase then." With that said, he turned and went to the small lunch room to look for a vase.

"Oh, wow, he got you flowers," Hanataro said as he caught sight of the pink and red wonder when he came back with a mug of coffee in his hand. His eyes were wide with surprised as he looked at the flowers more closely. He then turned to look at her and his surprised expression changed to worry.

"Are you okay, Momo?" he asked her as he came to stand next to her.

"Yeah…I…I just don't know what to say," she managed to whisper.

"You can start by saying thank you," Mr. Ichimaru said as he returned to the room with a vase in his hand, his voice slightly reproachful (Was it mocking?). 

"Mr. Ichimaru…you really didn't have to…I don't"-

"Nonsense, Momo. You deserve flowers. As a matter of fact, you deserve flowers every day for being such a great assistant," he said as he winked at her. 

"No really, it's my job…I don't think-"

"There now," Mr. Ichimaru said, cutting her off, standing back to observe his handiwork. 

Momo dared to look and saw that after placing the flowers in a rather large clear vase, he had peeled back the delicate pink tissue around the rim of the vase making the flowers look like they were sprouting from the vase rather than just placed in it. It would have been beautiful if the balloons were eliminated…as well as the rest of the decoration. 

Momo took back what she said earlier about her co-workers not being bent on giving her a hard time. 

_They want to make my life miserable,_ she thought bitterly.

* * *

As Momo tried to concentrate on the papers she was working on, it proved to be a hard feat as the moving balloons floating just above her head kept distracting her. Not to mention the insufferable colors. If it were up to her, she would strip the poor flowers of their horrid decoration, but it would hurt Mr. Ichimaru's feelings and he had only meant the gesture to cheer her up (or so she thought), so she refrained. Nevertheless, it was still unnerving. 

However, she couldn't explain to her…kindhearted friends the reason as to why she hated the holiday. It wasn't that she had a bad experience or had a bad relationship. On the contrary, she'd never been in a relationship. As a matter of fact, she could count with one hand the amount of guys that had approached her in the past five years. She had never been truly liked or loved by anyone and she didn't have to think hard to guess why. 

She was a plain girl. There was nothing about her that made her attractive or special or even talented. Nothing at all. Even her looks were plain. She had plain brown eyes, plain dark hair, and plain features, and even plain skin color. The fact that in all the years that she spent in the orphanage not a single potential parent adopted her was proof enough that she was nothing special. 

And so in the absence of affection and love, save for the love of her one and dear friend, Rukia – and Hanataro (he was a sweetheart after all) – Momo learned to live without it. She did not deny that she longed for it and lost count of how many nights she cried herself to sleep, but she kept herself busy so as not to dwell on the fact. She immersed herself in her work and involved herself in numerous projects to keep her busy at her small apartment. 

But on days like Valentine's Day, where everywhere she turned all she saw was love shared, it was hard to keep herself from breaking down and losing control. 

Hence her hatred of the horrid holiday and everything that had to do with it. 

Momo shook her head again to clear it of her wandering thoughts. She needed to concentrate. Focusing her attention at the letter she was typing, her fingers began to dance around the keys on the keyboard once again.

"Ms. Hinamori?" a rather deep masculine voice asked, startling her from her deep concentration.

Momo's eyebrows shot up when she looked up and was surprised to find that someone was standing on the other side of her desk. 

_How did he get there?_

However, she didn't give the question too much thought as her eyes rested on the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

He was tall and unbelievably handsome with silvery white hair (very strange) and the most beautiful pair of brilliant turquoise (not green or blue, but turquoise) eyes she had ever seen. For a moment, she thought she was looking at an angel. 

Her mouth fell open instantly and all she could do was stare. Was it possible for such a beautiful being to walk the earth?

"Are you Ms. Momo Hinamori?" he asked again, quirking a silver eyebrow at her. 

Momo immediately shook her head, again, and blinked a few times to clear her head. 

"Yes, yes I am. I'm sorry, how can I help you?" she said quickly, surprised she was able to find her voice. 

"Hi, I'm Detective Toushirou Hitsugaya." He showed her his badge. "I'm here to meet with Mr. Gin Ichimaru. He asked me to come in." 

His voice was rich and smooth, almost hypnotizing. It kept her from fidgeting under his penetrating eyes. They were looking at her so intently that she had a hard time even blinking. 

"Oh…uh…okay. Let me buzz him." Momo's hands fumbled as she picked up the phone and tried to dial her boss' extension. She was glad she knew the number better than even the back of her hand. Otherwise, she doubted she would have called him anytime within the hour, she was suddenly so clumsy. 

"Yes, Momo," came Mr. Ichimaru's polite and smooth voice after the first ring.

"A Mr. Toushirou…" She paused as she couldn't remember his last name. Had he even given it to her? Momo blink as she realized she couldn't remember. Her eyes flickered to his direction as she racked her brain. 

"Hitsugaya," he said smoothly, his eyes still on her face. Momo flashed him a smile of gratitude before turning her head away. If she wanted to concentrate, she couldn't look into his eyes.

"Hitsugaya is here to see you."

"Oh, yes. Send him right in, if you please," he said kindly.

"Sure thing." Momo hung her phone up and turned to look at the ethereal man standing just a few feet away. But not before taking a few steadying breaths.

"Please go right in, Mr. Hitsugaya," she said politely as she remembered to smile, motioning with her hand to the door to Mr. Ichimaru's office.

"Thank you. Ms. Hinamori," he said, nodding his head to her curtly before pulling away from her desk. She thought that his eyes lingered on hers longer than was most likely necessary, but it must have just been her imagination. She didn't seem to be thinking straight anyway…not since she had noticed him. 

She stared in something just a bit short of awe as she watched the door close behind him. Besides being the most…peculiar looking man she had ever met, she had never encountered a person that made her totally lose control of her carefully composed emotions. This was the very first time it had ever happened. She was utterly flustered.

"He's kind of strange looking," Hanataro said suddenly from behind her. She turned around quickly, attempting to look casual as she looked at her friend, nodding her head.

"Yeah."

"Did he say he was a detective?" Hanataro asked. Momo looked up at him and blinked a few times. Did _he say he was a detective?_

"Oh…I guess so…" she said, searching her memory bank for a recollection.

"He had a badge...right?" Hanataro quirked an eyebrow at her.

_Oh, that's right. Now I remember._

"Oh…that's right, he did."

"I don't know…he looked too young to be a detective…don't you think?"

Now that Momo thought about it, the man looked too young to even have silver hair, but he did. Very strange…

Suddenly, the front doors burst open and in walked Mr. Ichimaru's co-owner and partner of the firm, Ms. Soi Fon. As usual, she looked regal in her elegant business suit underneath the long and opened wool coat. It trailed behind her, as well as the silk-like scarf around her neck, as she walked briskly to Hanataro's desk.

"Hanataro, I need these documents typed and ready by noon," she said curtly, as with one swift and graceful movement she reached in to her bag and pulled out a stack of papers. Still managing to be graceful, she dumped the papers on his desk and turned to go to her office. 

"I will also be requiring a cup of coffee," she said as an afterthought before slamming her office door behind her. 

"She was politer than usual," Momo noted as she smiled at Hanataro.

"I think I better get to work…it's almost eleven o'clock," he said as a defeated, crestfallen look overtook his features.

"Aw, if you need help just let me know," she suggested as she patted his arm.

"I think I will. Thanks, Momo."

"Sure thing." She smiled at him warmly as he turned to return to his desk.

While Momo couldn't say she _liked_ Ms. Soi Fon, she also couldn't say that she hated her either. While she was obnoxious most of the time, didn't seem to possess any manners, and treated Hanataro as if he was the gum beneath her shoes rather than her secretary, she could be kind whenever she put her mind to it and was rather generous when it came to their work benefits. While she _required_ that Hanataro bend backwards for her whenever she asked, or rather demanded, it of him, she didn't make him work more hours than he needed to nor was she stingy about his vacation time or the amount of personal days and sick days he was allowed. As a matter of fact, one time she gave him four weeks off, surprising both him and Momo. And paid for, no less.

It was things like this that made her seem like a kind and caring person. But then she would rudely burst into the room, bark outrageous commands and almost completely change one's view of her. 

Complicated was the word that came to mind whenever Momo thought about her. 

Returning her attention once again to the letter she was writing, Momo immersed herself in her work once again. Just as she was getting the hang of it, Mr. Ichimaru and Detective Hitsugaya walked out of his office in the middle of a conversation.

"….thank you for your time, detective. I will have those documents delivered to you immediately, if you would please give the information to my secretary," Mr. Ichimaru said as he led the detective towards Momo's desk. 

"No problem," Hitsugaya said smoothly, his eyes flickering in her direction. Momo felt her heart pick up speed as their eyes locked and was rendered speechless for the third time that morning.

"Ah…Momo, if you would take Detective Hitsugaya's information. Please," Mr. Ichimaru prompted, bringing Momo out of her stupor.

"Oh, yes, of course," she said hurriedly, tearing her eyes from the turquoise eyed man as she rummaged around her desk for a notepad and a pen. Wanting to quickly divert his attention away from her, she made a desperate grab for a pen in her small pencil holder and tipped it by mistake, spilling it's contents all over the scattered papers in front of her. She felt her face heat up as she heard him chuckle under his breath.

_Damn it!_

"Sorry," she apologized with embarrassment, finally finding a blank space in her notepad.

"If you would please print the information here," she said politely, making sure not to look at his eyes as she handed him the pen and paper. His fingers brushed hers lightly as he took the pen and she couldn't help thinking it was on purpose. 

Well, she was making a spectacle of herself by acting like a love struck fool after all. She supposed he thought she was just another flirty secretary…she had never been so embarrassed in her life. 

"Have you been working here long?" he asked her suddenly. Momo looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh…just a few months," she heard herself say. He nodded his head as he handed her back the paper and pen.

"I thought I didn't recognize you. There was a different girl here last time I came."

"Oh."

"I'm sure that Mr. Ichimaru has a hard time getting his clients attention after they pass through here now," he then said, a smile seeming to play on his lips, but Momo couldn't be sure. She blinked up at him, unsure of how to take his comment. 

"Have a nice day, Ms. Hinamori." He nodded his head towards her once, hesitating for just a brief second, before turning to leave. Momo could only stare at his retreating back in bewilderment.

_Was that a…compliment?_

Momo couldn't believe it. 

"Er…Momo? Are you paying attention?" she suddenly heard Mr. Ichimaru ask in that vaguely curious tone that always belied how interested he really was. When she turned around, he was looking at her questioningly as he raised an eyebrow. He seemed…. vaguely puzzled for a moment, but the moment passed quickly.

"I'm sorry, sir. What was the question?" She felt her cheeks heat up as he now raised both eyebrows at her.

"Lost in thought?" he asked her, grinning wickedly.

"Oh…yes," she replied with a nervous laugh. 

Well, it seemed to be a good explanation anyway.

* * *

Momo found that she had a hard time concentrating on her work for the rest of the day. Her thoughts kept drifting to the conversation she and detective Hitsugaya had before he left. She still could not decipher if he had been mocking her or if he really had given her a compliment. Any other man she would have been sure that he would have been mocking her – most of the men that came to see either Mr. Ichimaru or Ms. Fon barely look her way, much less compliment her. As a matter of fact, ninety percent of them are stuck up rich snobs. 

But Detective Hitsugaya was different. His eyes did not have that lofty look in them nor were they mocking in any way. They looked sincere. Then again, she was so befuddled and struck by his masculine beauty that she couldn't be sure if she had imagined the sincerity or not.

All the same, it frustrated her that such a small and insignificant comment had caused her to lose focus for the rest of the day. Not to mention caused her to make countless mistakes as well. Three times she had to retype several letters and after printing them she found that she had made silly spelling errors and, more than once, addressed it to the wrong recipient. Which was why she was still at the office long after her shift was over. Fortunately she was not alone–Mr. Ichimaru was still working late. 

After organizing the papers on her desk and separating the letters that needed to be mailed out the next day, Momo was finally ready to go home. She softly knocked on Mr. Ichimaru's door, poking her head into his office, to see if he was going to leave anytime soon. 

"Are you going to stay?" she asked him.

"Yeah…it looks that tonight's going to be an all-nighter," he said tiredly from behind a folder he was holding, smiling weakly at her. She always found it very strange when Mr. Ichimaru showed any true emotion. It only seemed to happen when he was tired, as if he was more caught off-guard that way. Still, she rather liked seeing this side of him.

"There's still coffee in the pot. Do you want me to make some more?"

"No. That's okay. You go on home, Momo. I'll see you in the morning."

"All right. Don't work too hard," she said, smiling at him before turning to leave.

"You too. Oh, and Momo?" She turned to face him again.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Momo blinked her eyes so to keep a straight face and managed to put on a fake smile. 

"Thanks."

She closed his office door softly behind her before he could say anything more. Again, Momo was almost sure he only meant well when he wished her Happy Valentine's (she could be too sure), but Momo was deeply aggravated that no matter how hard she tried to steer clear from being reminded of the godforsaken day, somehow or someway she was. 

Sighing, she put on her coat, grabbed her bags (thankfully she didn't have to take the flowers home as she was going to keep them on her desk as a decoration) and made her way out. As the doors of Ichimaru and Fon offices closed behind her, Momo tightened the light blue scarf around her neck as a gust of cold air blew against her face. Earlier during day the weather was fairly warm considering that it was the middle of winter, however as the sun descended behind the horizon and cast the city in darkness the temperature was dropping considerably. After securing her scarf around her neck, Momo snuggled her coat closer to her body and briskly began to make her way to the bus stop. 

It was during times like this that she wished with her whole heart that she had a car. Waiting, especially at night, for the bus in the freezing cold weather made her commutes to and from work utterly dreadful. But she had to do what she had to do and she hoped that one day, not too long into the future, she would be better off.

Having nothing to distract her as she walked, her thoughts began to wander off to Detective Hitsugaya. Remembering what he looked like, though it was already quickly fading in her memory, Momo couldn't help to think that he was terribly handsome, despite the fact that he was the strangest looking man she had ever seen. He obviously was very young. Momo had seen enough men in her life to know that the sharp and slightly rough edges to his features were just settling in, meaning that his physical appearance was just entering adulthood. He couldn't be older than twenty-five. Twenty-six at most. Yet, he had white hair. How was that possible? She figured that perhaps he dyed his hair, but his eyebrows were white as well. She couldn't imagine why a police officer, a detective at that, would want to dye his hair _white_. Even so, that was an unusual color for anyone to pick to dye their hair. The only other person she knew with hair like that was Mr. Ichimaru, but she figured he was too eccentric to really count.

And his eyes. Who had _teal_ eyes? They weren't clear blue with a twinge of green or the other way around, they were _teal_. It only made his peculiar appearance more so. 

_What a strange man…_

_Pop!_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a popping sound to her right. Momo instinctively looked to the right to find a rather dark and narrow alleyway, almost completely covered in shadows. She couldn't make anything out and after a few moments figured that it was probably some stray cat or something. However, when the she heard the popping sounds twice more followed by a flashes of light, Momo stopped walking all together and peered more closely into the alleyway again. 

_That's strange…_

Suddenly a man, dressed in a dark jacket and pants, his face hidden within the shadows cast by the hood he had around his head, materialized before her, his stance menacing. Momo stepped back, barely suppressing her yelp of surprise.

"Oh!" She clutched the front of her coat and felt her accelerated heartbeats hammer against her chest. 

The man paused in front of her, seeming to stare at her from behind his hood. The fact that he didn't keep walking but stood motionlessly before her made Momo nervous. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, taking a few steps back. She was about to turn away from him to continue her route home when the man began advancing towards her. Struck with fear, Momo stood rooted to the spot. When he didn't deviate from the path towards her, Momo was sure that she was in trouble. She tried to move away but the fear that paralyzed her kept her from doing so.

The flash of light from the head lights of a car that suddenly passed behind them revealed his face behind the shadows and the man pulled his arm up to hide it again, taking a few steps back. The lights were like a bolt of lightning, causing her to react. As he man backed away from her, Momo took the opportunity to flee. Walking as fast as her short legs could take her without running, Momo took off down the street, putting as much distance between herself and the hooded man. As the she approached a more crowded area of the sidewalk, she dared to glimpse behind her to see if she was being followed. A few nervous glances later confirmed that she wasn't. However, Momo didn't take her chances. She made it to the bus stop in record time and it wasn't until the bus' door closed behind her that she finally allowed herself to sigh in relief. 

Taking a seat in the back, her hands shook as she reached into her purse to take out the small bottle of mace she kept and put it into her pocket. She had bought the small bottle when she first got her job as a legal secretary, thinking that it was better to be safe than sorry, especially since most of her walks home were during nightfall. However, she had never really been in a situation where she felt the need to use the bottle. She had never been so grateful for such a smart move until now.

She kept her emotions in check until she got home, glancing behind her the whole time, afraid each time that she would find the hooded man behind her. When she was finally in the safety of her apartment, Momo sank into the floor as the suppressed feelings of anxiety and panic flooded her chest.

As the feelings slowly subsided, Momo took a few shaky deep breaths to steady her shaking body and hands. She reached into her purse and took out her cell phone, thinking that if she spoke to someone perhaps she would feel better sooner. But as she cleared the screen on her phone she realized that she really didn't have someone close to call. Her eyes began to fill up with tears as an overwhelming loneliness filled her. For reasons unknown to her, she then remembered that today was Valentine's Day and the reminder of it only made her feel worse.

* * *

Author's Rambling...

Namimakura: hey hey! waves happily ... hope you all positively adore this chappy. it's gisela-chan's brain-child for the most part... i claim only the editing and some gin-tweaking. and don't you just love momo? yeah, we do. anyway, hope you all love it!

Wendelin-Gisela: Yai another chappy! I think that Momo is a bit different here. A little bitter and sad. And Gin...isn't he just so Gin? He was cleverly written by the lovely Namim...just perfect :)

Thank you from the both of us for reading! Ooh, and cookies for reviews! Right, Namimakura?

and Namim says yes to the cookies.


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